NBA Mock Draft 2026: NCAA Tournament Risers Head to Final 4

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Braylon Mullins #24 celebrates with Malachi Smith #0 of the UConn Huskies. Mullins is a wildcard in the 2026 NBA mock draft.

Things had not been going well for UConn shooter Braylon Mullins, one of the more interesting 2026 NBA mock draft prospects who could potentially be in this year’s draft. He had not played well leading into the NCAA tournament, and hadn’t shot that well in the tournament itself, in the process doing damage to his reputation as an elite 3-point threat. But then, of course, he made the biggest shot of the season, a logo 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds on the clock to beat Duke and send the Huskies to the Final 4.

That won’t hurt Mullins’ draft stock. Then again, it won’t hurt his NIL prospects either, so it’s still hard to say whether Mullins will enter the draft or return to college.

But Mullins will be one of a pretty big handful of players who will be worth watching when the Final Four tips off on Saturday. Our latest mock draft includes players from all four teams. Here goes:

1. Washington Wizards: AJ Dybantsa, SF, BYU. There are plenty of needs on the Wizards roster, but a centerpiece wing is a good start. Don’t expect BYU’s early tournament exit to affect Dybantsa’s draft stock. He’s locked in as a Top 2 pick, a versatile 6-foot-9 scorer who has a natural, springy athleticism.
2. Brooklyn Nets: Cameron Boozer, PF, Duke. Scout: “He has so much skill around the basket, he knows how to win, and he makes everyone around him better. He will score 25 points and still throw elbows, set screens, dive on the floor. He is a guy you want on your team.” Nets are in need of a PF (and, well, everything else, too).
3. Indiana Pacers: Darryn Peterson, SG, Kansas. The ups and downs of Petersen are well-known at this point. He is the most talented player in the draft, but also the most enigmatic, and in the end, he is not a guy who helped Kansas win this season. That’s going to drop his stock … but not far. Even those around the NBA who are hard on Peterson’s cramping issues don’t see him getting past No. 4 overall.
   

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   NBA Mock Draft 2026: Who’s No. 4?

4. Sacramento Kings:  Caleb Wilson, PF, North Carolina. His raw athleticism at 6-foot-10 will get him into the Top 10, probably the Top 5. He can’t shoot (26% from the 3-point line), and whomever drafts him will gamble that he can change that over time. A late-season thumb injury and UNC’s collapse won’t hurt his stock much. There’s too much talent.
5. Utah Jazz: Darius Acuff Jr., PG, Arkansas. John Calipari has been stumping for Acuff, but he doesn’t need to. Around the NBA, scouts point to Acuff—a do-it-all point guard—as one of the players who is still trending up even as he has moved into the Top 5. “He could break into the Top 3 depending on how the lottery goes,” one scout said.
6. Dallas Mavericks: Keaton Wagler, G, Illinois. He’s averaging 17.5 points in four tournament games, making 44.0% of his 3s. Scout: “His upside is not as high as some other guys, but he is a very smart, very purely talented scorer and ballhandler. I love how he sees a game and picks it apart. That’s a skill that translates to the next level.”
7. Atlanta Hawks (via New Orleans Pelicans): Kingston Flemings, PG, Houston. Absolutely a downhill player whose speed changes the game. Wherever he lands will wind up being a team that pushes the tempo and gets into transition. He’ll need more confidence in his perimeter shot.
8. Memphis Grizzlies: Mikel Brown, Jr., PG, Louisville. The Grizz are poised to move off of Ja Morant. Brown did not have a great year for the Cardinals, as he shot only 41% and missed all of March with a back injury. But he’s still a coveted piece in the NBA, a polished guard whose game should translate to the pros.
   

   GettyIllinois guard Keaton Wagler is a top pick in the 2026 NBA mock draft.

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9. Chicago Bulls: Brayden Burries, G, Arizona. After a rough start to the year, Burries’ stock has continued to rise into the Top 10. He’s a 6-foot-4 two-way combo guard who can hold his own on an NBA floor from the get-go, but the hope is that he develops into a solid starting point guard. He’s 13-for-19 on 3-pointers in the tournament, and that’s helping boost him now.
   
10. Milwaukee Bucks: Labaron Philon, PG, Alabama. Scout: “He is all over the board. I think where he lands will depend on whether he gets a team who sees him as a starting point guard—and the way he played to close the season and into the tournament, I think his stock is up.”
11. Golden State Warriors: Yaxel Lendeborg, PF, Michigan. Scout: “He’s going to be 24 in September, and that’s the big thing with him—he is ready to play in the NBA but you’d expect him to be more of a versatile, dirty-work kind of role player. That’s not a bad thing, but he fits best with a contender. Some teams might be looking for a bigger swing.”
12. Portland Trail Blazers: Koa Peat, PF, Arizona. Peat is 6-foot-8 and plays with some power, with the potential to land in the lottery depending on how things shake out with the other PFs in this draft—there is depth in this draft but not necessarily with size. How a team views him is probably based on whether it thinks he can develop a 3-pointer (6-for-19 in his college career)
13. Miami Heat:  Cameron Carr, SF, Baylor. Carr is a high-volume scorer entering a league that has turned up its nose as high-volume scorers. But he is 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot-1 wingspan and good shooting ability—he’ll just need a team and system to tame him a bit. The Heat could move off Tyler Herro, making Carr a good fit. 
    
14. Memphis Grizzlies (via Orlando Magic): Nate Ament, SF, Tennessee. His 2-for-12 showing vs. Michigan didn’t help his stock. Scout: “Up and down year for him. It was good he came back after getting hurt (ankle injury in late February), but there’s a lot of question marks there. He’s a shooter at 6-foot-10, though, and he showed enough to keep him in the lottery. You just have to trust that you can develop him.”
    

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    Braylon Mullins Cracking NBA Mock Draft 2026 Top 20?

15. Oklahoma City Thunder (via Los Angeles Clippers): Jayden Quaintance, PF/C, Kentucky. Quaintance is the wildcard of this draft, a big guy who was coming off ACL surgery this season and went out again after a brief return this winter, an unfortunate bit of punctuation on a frustrating year. The knee is an obvious concern, but if healthy, Quaintance can be a defensive force inside. High risk, high reward.
16. Charlotte Hornets: Chris Cenac Jr., PF/C, Houston. The draft has size, and that could hurt Cenac. Scout: “He is a risk, all the big guys in this draft are a risk. You’d like to see more rim protection, you’d like to see more consistency. But he can develop into a stretch big guy, and that’s at a premium, so he probably winds up in the lottery. There’s a lot of untapped potential.”
17. Toronto Raptors: Braylon Mullins, SG, UConn. There’s potential that he could return to Storrs, as his season was somewhat disappointing. But he came in with a reputation as one of the best shooters in the draft, and his epic 35-footer to beat Duke was a reminder of that. Still, he was 10-for-his-last-57 from the 3-point line before that, and he will need to keep pushing forward to secure a Top 20 draft spot.
18. Charlotte Hornets (via Phoenix Suns): Karim Lopez, F, New Zealand Breakers. Lopez has all the physical attributes (6-foot-9, 7-foot-1 wingspan) to make scouts’ mouths water. But he didn’t quite put it together in his NBL season, where he averaged 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 49% shooting. He’s a project and needs to go to a team that can be patient.
19. Oklahoma City Thunder (from Philadelphia 76ers): Thomas Haugh, PF, Florida. Haugh is seen as something of a safe pick for a draft with a lot of upside players. There’s hope that his 3-point shot will develop into a weapon—he needs improvement there. The Gators’ disappointing NCAA tournament run won’t hurt his stock, but he did not get a boost from it, either.
20. San Antonio Spurs (via Atlanta Hawks):  Isaiah Evans, SF, Duke. Evans has slowly built up his stock after an inconsistent start, and appears to be firm as a Top 20 pick. He’s a durable three-level scorer whose game should translate well to the NBA.
    

    Koa Peat #10 of the Arizona Wildcats drives against Chris Cenac Jr. #5 of the Houston Cougars. Both are top picks in the 2026 NBA mock draft.

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    Good Value Just Outside Top 20

21. Detroit Pistons (via Minnesota Timberwolves). Hannes Steinbach, PF, Washington. Anytime you get a German prospect from Wurzburg, the imagination is going to run wild. But Steinbach is not Dirk—he is, instead, a dominant rebounder who led the nation with 11.8 boards per game.
22. Atlanta Hawks (via Cleveland Cavaliers): Christian Anderson, G, Texas Tech. The fact that teams are more likely to be looking for size in this draft is probably the only thing that would hold Anderson’s stock into the 20s. He is a very good shooter (41.5% from the 3-point line this year) and playmaker who can play on and off the ball.
23. Philadelphia 76ers (via Houston Rockets):  Morez Johnson, PF, Michigan. Johnson has shown himself to be more versatile and efficient than his reputation held coming into the season after spending last year with Illinois. He’s a rim-runner first and foremost, but he can defend, score out of dribble handoffs and has excelled ina  double-big lineup, which more and more NBA teams like.
24. New York Knicks: Patrick Ngongba II, C, Duke. Duke’s shocking loss to UConn was not helpful to Ngongba, who is trying to leave a good impression after missing time with a foot injury. He has the size, skill and defensive chops, but does he have the rim-running athleticism teams want? No matter what happens with Mitchell Robinson in free agency, the Knicks must think big.
25. Denver Nuggets: Dailyn Swain, G/F, Texas. Scout: “He is 6-foot-8 and he has always been sort of a question mark. But the more this season has gone on, and now the NCAA tournament, you see him converting potential into performance. He is passing better, he is shooting better, he is making better decisions. And he’s just scratching the surface.”
26. Los Angeles Lakers: Aday Mara, C, Michigan. Mara has boosted his stock in recent weeks, mostly thanks to 11 blocks in four tournament games. At 7-foot-3, has been showing a bit more variety in his offensive game, creating his own shots and scoring. Aday’s advantages are mostly defensive, though, and obvious for a team that must add size.
    

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27. Boston Celtics: Amari Allen, SF, Alabama. Scout: “If someone does not give him a first-round promise, he could go back (to school). But he is a smart player who has some areas of development still in front of him—I think a playoff team would give him a good look and maybe promise him.”
28. Minnesota Timberwolves (via Detroit Pistons): Tyler Tanner, PG, Vanderbilt. He’s only 6-feet, and that’s the big thing that works against Tanner. But he has shown a knack for playmaking and scoring, and his quickness is undeniable. His NCAA tournament performance—53 points in two games—has his stock on the rise.
29. Cleveland Cavaliers (via San Antonio Spurs): Bennett Stirtz, PG, Iowa. Stirtz will be 23 in the fall, and that will be counted against him in the draft. He will need to add strength and physicality, but he is a polished playmaker who can shoot from deep, though his 0-for-9 showing in the Hawkeyes’ upset over Florida was not his finest moment.
30. Dallas Mavericks (via Oklahoma City Thunder): Alex Karaban, PF, UConn. Karaban will be 24 in November, and that works against him, but that’s not necessarily a negative for Dallas. He struggled in the upset win over Duke, but he can help out a coach in a number of ways, and a strong finish for the Huskies would help him slip into the first round.